Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake Review: A Whole New Era of Adventure

Adventure Time is one of the most notable modern franchises to come from Cartoon Network. The original animated series might have ended its TV run back in 2018, but has since returned with a series of special episodes highlighting different facets of the growing Adventure Time universe. Now that multiverses are hotter than ever, Adventure Time is back with a new series to help explore the multiverse it created way back in 2011 with the very first "Fionna and Cake" episode. Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake is a much different experience than Adventure Time ever was, and has grown with the audience that watched the TV series all those years ago.

Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake ushers in a whole new era of the franchise as it fully dives into the darker tones that some of the most memorable episodes of the original TV series only got to dabble in. Committing to a single narrative tying together each of its episodes, it's also a much different kind of viewing experience than Adventure Time fans might be used to. But at the same time, there are so many elements here both bright and dark that will scratch that nostalgic itch while still finding a way to feel new. 

It's a little difficult to explain exactly what Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake actually is (and where it sits in the Adventure Time canon) without spoiling one of its biggest, early-on twists, so the best way to approach it is to reveal that it's a full exploration of the multiverse that was first introduced in Adventure Time. Fionna (Madeline Martin) and Cake (Roz Ryan) are no longer the figments of Ice King's imagination, and they soon find themselves in the actual Land of Ooo rather than the fictional parallel Land of Aaa that they were first introduced in. When Fionna and Cake are caught in the crosshairs of a much bigger problem, the two then team up with Simon Petrikov (Tom Kenny) and begin hopping across universes looking for a way to fix their home. 

Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake is a series made with fans of the original series in mind. Not only does it expand on the ideas introduced in the few scattered Fionna and Cake-starring episodes that aired years ago, but it takes the characters and elevates them to a whole new level. Fionna and Cake are complicated and find that they can't just tackle things head-on like Finn and Jake would have done in Adventure Time. Ooo is a much different world than the two of them expected, and it's clear from each universe they visit that their "adventure" comes with a lot of inherent flaws. 

They're a very compelling duo to follow as, while their dynamic used to mirror Finn and Jake's, it's now much more nuanced in the new series. Fionna is an older protagonist who thinks about the ramifications of her actions and Cake is a cat who's trying to break away from the fact that she is a cat and is exploring all new powers on her own. There's also an expanded look at all of the parallel universe characters, as well as fan favorites such as Gary Prince (Andrew Rannells) and Marshall Lee (Donald Glover), who have their own extended side plot that evolves over the episodes. 

Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake will admittedly hit much better with fans of the original Adventure Time series as there are tons of references and Easter eggs that they will recognize more. However, it's very much a story that someone new can enjoy without much prior context, thanks to the emotional core for Fionna and Cake at the center of it all. Although the series assumes that viewers will have prior Adventure Time experience due to the multiversal nature of the overall arc of the season (and which characters are involved in it), Fionna and Cake's struggle comes from a very real place of wanting adventure in a mundane and boring life. 

This is what feels the most like it has grown up with Adventure Time fans. The absence of "fun" in a boring, drawn-out routine is something that any viewer can relate to, and the variety of each of the episodes (which highlight a particular character each time) means that it never feels like it's stagnant and thus reminiscent of the life Fionna is running from. It's an emotionally rich adventure and one that makes the most out of the best aspects of Adventure Time itself. 

Rating: 4 out 5

Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake releases its first two episodes with Max on Thursday, August 31st with two episodes releasing weekly through September 28th.